ARM issues a quad-core 28nm chip

ARM has released details of its Cortex-A15 MP4, which is a quad-core 28nm processor which will not need much in the way of customisation.

ARM designs are usually fairly open so manufacturers can customise them to make them fit.

However ARM said the Cortex-A15 MP4 will slot into the part of the market which wants a pre-optimised variant that should make it possible to develop products more quickly.

SoC designers, for example, are usually looking to make a trade-off between the flexibility offered by the traditional development and getting a product out there quickly.

ARM processor marketing chief Jim Nicholas said in a statement that it is handy to get a chip into machines that have an ensured, benchmarked power, and performance.

According to ZDNet UK the chip will end up in notebooks and what ARM is doing in this particular segment is important because later this year Windows 8 for ARM will make it more viable as a notebook platform.

The Cortex-A15 MPCore design is also more server-friendly than ARM’s Cortex-A9 technology and has features such as low-power sleep mode and support for error detection, data recovery and hardware virtualisation.

The MP4 runs at 2GHz and can manage 20,000DMIPS with the wind behind it and going downhill. However it still boasts Cortex-A9’s power efficiency.